


blood pounding like the beat of a drum

by patrichor



Series: sbi stories [5]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Injury, Duelling, Gen, L'Manberg War of Independence on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Older Sibling Wilbur Soot, Piglin Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Piglin Hybrid Wilbur Soot, Protective Wilbur Soot, Temporary Character Death, Twins Wilbur Soot & Technoblade, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings, basically wilbur kicks dream's ass: the fic, can u tell i struggle writing fight scenes dsjgkbfj, is that how you spell that??, weirdchamp, wilbur goes fucking apeshit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:55:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28808454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patrichor/pseuds/patrichor
Summary: wilbur turns to face him, and the mix of anger and tired resignation on his face makes dream laugh internally and dismiss his concerns. that's the expression of a man with no way out, an expression he's seen on countless beings just before he kills them."dream." he says calmly, with the dignity of a man determined to face death on his own terms. "i challenge you to a duel for l'manberg's freedom."dream's face is hidden behind his mask, but wilbur gets the sense he's smiling.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Wilbur Soot, Floris | Fundy & Toby Smith | Tubbo & Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Series: sbi stories [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2078391
Comments: 54
Kudos: 638





	blood pounding like the beat of a drum

**Author's Note:**

> [holds wilbur] i just think hes neat
> 
> anyway wilbur deserves to go fuckin ape... dream deserves to get beat up... it's perfect /rp
> 
> sjfdkbdj this is about the characters not the actual people

in one world, tommy challenges a god to a bow duel and loses. he trades away his most precious possessions, and a fledgling nation is born.

here and now, it goes like this: wilbur steps in front of tommy and grips his arms, startling him into silence right as he challenges dream. tommy looks into his leader, his brother's eyes and sees something that he hasn't seen in a long time. cold, cold fury. he takes half a step back on instinct, a part of him afraid even though he knows his brother would never hurt him.

across from them, the expression flashing across tommy's face has dream tilting his head, intrigued. his opponent is not a fighter, he's confident of that much. eret had told him that wilbur had said so himself, citing it as the reason he doesn't lead their ragtag group into battle. so what, exactly, is he planning?

wilbur turns to face him, and the mix of anger and tired resignation on his face makes dream laugh internally and dismiss his concerns. that's the expression of a man with no way out, an expression he's seen on countless beings just before he kills them.

"dream." he says calmly, with the dignity of a man determined to face death on his own terms. "i challenge you to a duel for l'manberg's freedom."

dream's face is hidden behind his mask, but wilbur gets the sense he's smiling. "oh? what are your terms?"

"one round, you and i, to the death. one weapon each, no tricks, no potions. if i win, you recognize l'manberg as free and independent from your smp. if you win.. the revolution is over."

there are hushed mutters of protest from the revolutionaries, most notably tommy, who grabs wilbur's arm anxiously. "wilbur- wilbur what are you doing? you- i challenged him first, let me fight-"

he's cut off by laughter from the masked man. "as fun as killing you would be, that's not quite enough incentive. how about this, if i win, i get mellohi."

wilbur doesn't answer, turning to look at tommy and raising a brow. his message is clear- the disc belongs to tommy, he won't wager it without his permission. the two share a silent conversation that ends with tommy releasing wilbur's arm and stepping back, scowling.

"fine, yeah. if you win you get mellohi." he grumbles, crossing his arms. "you'd better know what you're doing, wilbur."

wilbur smiles tiredly. "thank you, tommy. well, dream? are those terms acceptable?"

dream can feel his team's eyes on him as he shrugs loosely. "sure. i'll even use a sword, give you a little more of a chance."

wilbur doesn't bother responding to the taunt, turning and walking back to his group to prepare. his back is straight and his head high, and all dream sees is a man who's just signed his death warrant. well, he has two lives left, so it's not like he'll be dead forever. dream turns back to his team, emptying his inventory into a chest sapnap provides. it's entirely unnecessary since there's no way for the musician playing revolutionary to take one of his lives, but he does genuinely respect the other, at least a bit. he'll show a little respect, just this once.

tubbo reaches out and takes hold of wilbur's sleeve as he begins making his own preparations, namely emptying his inventory and asking tommy for the diamond sword.

"you're gonna be alright, aren't you?" he asks softly, anxiety curling in his chest. he's grateful that wilbur stopped tommy from starting a fight he couldn't win, but that doesn't mean he wants wilbur to get hurt either.

wilbur pauses, shooting him a tired smile. "don't worry, tubbo. i won't let the people of l'manberg be oppressed any longer." he turns before tubbo can point out that that's not an answer, pulling tommy a ways away from the others.

tommy doesn't meet his eyes, clearly fuming. wilbur sighs, putting a hand on his shoulder. "tommy, you know why i couldn't do nothing while you put yourself in danger."

tommy scowls. "i know, but couldn't you have done it without putting yourself in danger? you were the one who said it wilbur, you're not a fighter!" his voice rises as he reaches the end of his sentence, catching the attention of the others even as they pretend not to listen.

wilbur's tone doesn't change. "tommy, look at me."

reluctantly, he does. wilbur offers a light smile, but his expression quickly turns serious.

"tommy, i need you to do something. once it's over- i need him to stop me."

tommy's eyes go wide, the implications not lost on him. "you mean- you want me to call-"

wilbur puts a finger to his lips, silencing tommy instantly. right now, their greatest advantage is that dream underestimates wilbur. this is a man- a god?- who went toe-to-toe with the legendary blood god in a tournament and won four rounds. their best chance was to end the duel quickly, before he could recover from the surprise of wilbur's actual ability and use his full power as well. a full power they know he won't use from the start, because he wants to make it a spectacle. to toy with them and show them how helpless they really are, so that there will be no more thoughts of rebellion.

"okay," tommy looks back at his brother, expression serious, and holds the sword out hilt-first. "if he can't- whatever happens, i'll make sure you don't hurt anyone."

a layer of tension melts from wilbur's frame and he claps tommy on the shoulder, taking the sword. "thank you."

the duel is to commence in five minutes, and wilbur asks the fifth battalion to give him space. he sits with his legs folded beneath him and the diamond sword in his hands, eyes closed, and breathes. it's something his brother taught him, to center himself before a fight, but wilbur is using it for a very different reason.

hostile mob hybrids are generally feared, and not without cause. sharpened senses, enhanced reflexes, and dangerous instincts all appear to various degrees in different hybrids. technoblade's piglin instincts manifest strongly, making him one of the most feared players in the arena.

what few people know about one wilbur soot, besides his family relations, is his piglin heritage. in his own way it runs just as deep as in his twin, though he's never cared for war. technoblade indulges his instincts, and so has more control over them when it really matters. wilbur has always preferred a guitar to a sword, and because he suppresses his instincts he loses himself in them far more easily.

he opens his eyes as the five minutes end. in a way he almost feels sorry for dream, who clearly has no idea he's about to fight someone who learned to fight from the angel of death, side by side with the blood god.

he takes his place across from dream inside the decently-sized area hastily marked with fencing, smiling at his opponent.

dream pauses for the briefest moment, feeling like something is different, before shrugging it off. he's the closest thing to a god this world has. no one can touch him, least of all a man too weak to lead his forces in battle.

he would have done well to pay more attention to his instincts as wilbur begins to adjust his uniform. he tucks his beanie behind his ears instead of over, and most tellingly, kicks off his boots and hands them to tommy. his feet and ears don't look quite human, but dream has no time to ponder as they take ready stances and bad counts down from ten.

he'll start with a test attack to gauge wilbur's reaction speed, he decides, and then structure the rest of the fight to show off as much as possible. he doesn't just want to end the rebellion, he wants to crush the spirit of the rebels so they'll never go against him again.

"-two. one, fight!"

dream launches himself forward across the dirt area, swinging towards his opponent-

-who's no longer there. dream barely has a moment to wonder where he went before a blunt, all-too-familiar object strikes his lower back and sends him stumbling. it sends him right back to a boar mask and a championship loss, and with a jolt he recalls wilbur's feet. they weren't human at all, but hooves. just like... just like _his_.

when the signal is given to start, wilbur is already moving. dream is clearly testing him, and as a result unintentionally telegraphing his movements. he darts to the side and behind dream, pivoting on one foot and slamming the other into dream's back. dream lashes out with a sweeping strike even as he turns, but wilbur falls to one knee to avoid it while reversing his grip on his sword and _pushes_ upward, slamming the hilt into dream's jaw and sending him staggering.

he presses the attack with a solid left hook directly into dream's face, his head snapping to the side. dream recovers quicker this time and slashes, managing to slice a cut along wilbur's cheek as he leaps back. as he straightens up and catches sight of wilbur's face, he realizes he may have made a few mistakes.

the scent of blood fills the air for the hybrids present, fundy's ears flattening and wilbur inhaling deeply. his dark brown eyes look almost red as they catch the light, and a savage grin stretches across his face. in moments he's on the attack again, but something about his movements is different- more aggressive, less tightly controlled. he seems to lose all focus on anything that isn't dream, a near-feral glint in his eyes that sends a chill down dream's spine.

dream is quickly forced on the defensive, eyes wide behind the mask as he makes the connections. he hadn't seen it before- the beanie covering his ears, the specially-made boots, the filed-down tusks- but he was absolutely seeing it now. the long scar across his face aches as he recalls the only other piglin hybrid he's faced, and how in that fight he was wielding his preferred weapon.

his best option, he decides, is to stay on the defensive and let wilbur tire himself with his blind bloodlust-fueled attacks, before moving in for the kill. except wilbur doesn't seem to be tiring- if anything, his movements are only getting faster. dream ducks and twists, finally seeing an opportunity and striking, knocking wilbur's blade from his hand. before the other can recover, dream lodges his blade in his shoulder, only to watch in horror as he grabs the blade and rips it from dream's hand, pulling the netherite blade from his shoulder and tossing it to his other hand, less slippery with blood.

and dream- dream isn't afraid of anyone, all right? he rules this land, he's practically a god! and yet when his eyes meet the rebel leader's and he sees the savage glee within, his heart speeds up.

outside the arena, tommy mutters into a communicator, his urgency visible. tubbo clings to his arm, and fundy takes a step back as they see an unhinged side of their leader usually kept tightly under control. bad's tail lashes anxiously, and sapnap and george exchange nervous glances.

dream dives and rolls, snatching up the abandoned diamond sword just in time to block a blow that would have cut deep into his arm. now that he's paying close attention, he can see similarities between technoblade's and wilbur's fighting styles. they aren't the same, but rather have the same base principles, as if the same person taught both of them to fight.

dream isn't unskilled himself, and once he's mostly recovered from the surprise he begins to push wilbur back. but he's been complacent as god of this world for too long, and the sheer mental pressure of wilbur's reveal is beginning to take its toll. in the end, it isn't the rebel general's skill that leads to dream's defeat, it's a simple miscalculation. he makes the mistake of fighting wilbur as if he's technoblade, not realizing yet the biggest difference between their styles.

technoblade hits a bit harder, and wilbur is a bit faster.

had he been against technoblade, his sword would've been up in time to deflect the blow.

but he is against wilbur, whose sword slices through the air like a fish darts through water, and it cuts through his chest just as swiftly.

it's not an instantly fatal blow, but it is enough to send him crashing to his knees. the last thing he hears before wilbur's sword comes down is sapnap shouting in anger.

**[ dream was slain by wilbursoot ]**

dream's body poofs into smoke as sapnap throws himself forward, but he quickly realizes his mistake in coming too close when wilbur turns his blade on him. he frantically backpedals, terror lancing down his spine as he locks gazes with wilbur only to see eyes completely devoid of recognition or emotion. hands push him out of the way as tommy snatches up a blade and blocks wilbur's strike, shouting to try and reason with him. sapnap runs back to george and bad, the latter of which stands before the other two protectively.

it's immediately clear that tommy, while a skilled fighter in his own right, just can't match wilbur's furious intensity. he doesn't attack, using his sword only to deflect his older brother's blows as he tries to snap wilbur out of it.

and then wilbur whirls to deflect a strike from behind, and tommy drops his sword and dashes back a safe distance away.

**[ technoblade has joined the game ]**

the l'manbergians watch in awe and horror at the two figures crossing blades, their movements little more than a blur. dream teleports back to his friends, eyes widening as he sees a figure he most certainly did not whitelist.

techno moves like the predator he is, matching wilbur at every step until he finally disarms the other. immediately he tosses his own sword aside and wraps an arm around him, pinning his arms at his side as he holds his twin in a restraining hug. wilbur continues to struggle, eyes unfocused, until techno cups the back of his neck with his free hand, speaking quietly all the while. his struggling begins to slow, but it takes nearly a fully minute before he stands still.

he finally raises his head, recognition flashing across his face as technoblade releases him. "tech..? who did i hurt?"

techno shrugs, indicating he wasn't there long enough to tell. wilbur turns, scanning the people around him for injuries anxiously. he visibly relaxes upon finding none, and bumps his twin's shoulder with his own.

"thanks," he says, smiling softly. techno just nods, but the tightness around his eyes suggests they're going to be having a conversation later about what made him lose control enough that he would attack their younger brother.

dream, seeing that things have calmed down, steps forward and clears his throat. "well. as agreed, the smp officially recognizes l'manberg as its own, independent nation."

"you did it! wilbur- wilbur we're free, we won!" tommy cheers, and after a moment tubbo and fundy join in. he runs up to wilbur and yanks him into a hug, techno watching in amusement as the brunet splutters in protest before giving up and laughing.

"yeah. yeah, we did." he grins at the other two, their nervousness easing as he appears back to himself. tubbo is the first to move, running up to the two and joining their hug, tugging fundy behind him. fundy still seems uncomfortable, tail swishing behind him, but when wilbur puts a gentle hand on his head and beams at him he can't help but smile in return, ears pricking up.

dream glances at their group, a frown hidden behind his mask, and turns to leave. it seems he's severely underestimated his enemy. it wasn't that wilbur couldn't fight, but that he couldn't stop fighting. his friends follow him as he leaves.

he'll find a way to tear them down, but it seems he'll have to be extremely careful about it. not only do they have connections to THE technoblade, but one of them is skilled enough to go toe-to-toe with him and even take one of dream's lives. it would probably be best to back off for a while. even without his help, he's sure they'll start tearing themselves apart sooner or later. with how some of them were looking at wilbur after he lost control, it very well might be sooner.

behind his mask, his expression shifts to a smile. one loss means nothing to him in the long run. but the information he's gained today? in the long run, it very well might mean everything.

**Author's Note:**

> wilbur going apeshit lives in my brain rent-free
> 
> thanks for reading :)


End file.
